Come Morning Light
by Lawliet Veneziano
Summary: The Doctor got sucked into the Time Lock with the Master; fighting in the war together, the effects of the things that have happened, the things they've seen, the pain they've suffered, starts to affect the Master more and more…. (AU, MasterxDoctor pairing, songfic to "Safe and Sound", listen to the cover by Sam Tsui though for this)


The screams. The cries. The millions, billions, the countless lives lost in the blink of an eye only to return in a different form, the lives that went on through endless pain. Explosions and calls of the abominations in their metal containers, the yells of the monsters in their robes of red. It was no scene of hell for that would be far too gentle for what was before them; this was beyond, this was beyond chaos, this beyond anything that had come before. This was a war to end all wars, the end of all and everything. And the two of them were trapped right where they were.

_I remember tears streaming down your face  
When I said, "I'll never let you go"  
When all those shadows almost killed your light_

Staring from behind a barricade of his own making, the Doctor stood and watched as everything went up in flames outside; this was the seventh planet to get dragged into the Time War and already it was starting to look like all the others. Dead. Burning. Scarred and destroyed. Hand clenched around his gun he stopped for a moment and realized that yes, he had a gun in his hands; with a look of disgust and annoyance he threw it from his body and listened as it made a thumping noise on the ground. He glared at it for a moment, as if his gaze could make it spontaneous combust and disappear; no such luck. From nearby he heard the sound of something moving and he glance over into the shadows of the broken house they were hiding out in; a bundle of blankets lay there, sitting against a wall and the Doctor frowned, going over. He leaned down in front of it and let blankets fall to reveal the person inside, the pale and haunted looking face, that once-arrogant, power-hungry, confident face. It bothered him to see the other man like this and he gently rested his forehead against his companion's, whispering not only with his words but with his mind, "Don't worry, I'm not going to leave you behind, I'll never let you go, Kos."

Tears formed and fell; a familiar but tired voice spoke, "Theta…"

_I remember you said, "Don't leave me here alone"  
But all that's dead and gone and passed tonight_

Hands reached out and grabbed for the Doctor and he felt his old friend not only pull him in closer but bury his face in his shoulder; a muffled voice spoke to him, almost too soft to hear but at this closeness it was all too easy to hear him, "Don't leave me, please, not here. Just….don't leave me here alone, Theta…I'm begging you."

His hearts fell hearing that, the proud Master, the strong Master, always ready for a challenge, always brushing off the Doctor's attempts at reconciliation in favor of his own agenda, asking for help. Begging for it. Any lesser man might taunt him for it, any other Time Lord might sneer and leave the other there to rot, to die among his countrymen. But the Doctor was not any other; he was himself, he was Theta, and he wouldn't leave the Master, leave Koschei behind.

"Alright," he said finally and helped his fellow Time Lord to his feet; a completely Doctor-like smile crossed his face and he spoke in a soft but clear tone, "Then run."

_Just close your eyes  
The sun is going down  
You'll be alright  
No one can hurt you now  
Come morning light  
You and I'll be safe and sound_

Even as the duo ran across the surface of the planet, dodging and avoiding gunshots, laser beams, bombs, grenades, the most high tech of weaponry and the lowest of tech as well, they could see off far in the sky the stars, the twin suns. This planet really wasn't all that far from their home, from their Gallifrey. _Oh Gallifrey,_ thought the Doctor in a moment of sadness; their home was burning too, or close to it. This war took it's toll on everything; on Gallifrey, on the universe, on the Time Lords, on the Daleks, on the Doctor, and…

He turned to look at the Master who was still holding onto his hand, dulled hazel eyes staring at nothing really; his scruffy bleach blonde hair was matted with blood though the Doctor was unsure to whose exactly, his face graced by not only a lifeless gaze and a frown but stubble. His clothes were tattered, his hands were bloodied, he looked tired, he looked worn, he looked just….broken. Not that the Doctor thought he had fared much better but still seeing his old friend, his enemy, the other side of the coin that was the Doctor, like this worried him more than a little. Broken didn't suit the Master; crazy maybe, more than a little in this unstable form of his, and dangerous definitely, but broken? But of course it had to have been inevitable. Yet, the Doctor thought to himself and turned away continuing to run, moving faster and pulled the Master along more; he wouldn't allow it to progress further. He wouldn't let the Master break any further, be hurt any further; he had decided long ago, when he grabbed the blonde Time Lord's arm as the Time Lock closed, that he would do everything to keep him safe.

_Don't you dare look out your window, darling,  
Everything's on fire  
The war outside our door keeps raging on_

More explosions and one came dangerously close to the Master, throwing dirt and shrapnel from left-behind weapons at the man; some narrowly missed embedding itself in him while others hit, digging into his skin. No longer even in enough of a right mind to be able to hold back, he screamed and drew the Doctor's attention; his friend let go of his hand and fell, starting to try and pull out the shards in his leg. Knowing that wouldn't help anything the Doctor bent down and grabbed his hand, "Kos, stop, stop it right now, let me; all you're doing is making it worse. Please let me do this."

He then gingerly pulled at the pieces sticking out of the Master's skin, forced to listen to his friend scream from each painful extraction, every near miss of a vital artery and once done the Doctor pulled him into a hug, trying to calm the broken Time Lord's pain some. He rubbed the small of his back with his hand and soothed his head with his mind; the link pounded back at him as usual, that infernal, evil drumming, but he ignored it, focusing on keeping the Master calm. Fires flared around them but he didn't mind for the moment.

_Hold on to this lullaby  
Even when the music's gone  
Gone_

Something seemed wrong though; the Master was calming down but it wasn't a normal calm. It was…wrong, how else could he explain it? It was wrong, as if…

The Doctor let go and looked at his friend; his eyes were clearer and staring at the Doctor but something was still wrong. He was bleeding, blood, coming from his mouth, and the Doctor then noticed the last piece of shrapnel, embedded in the Master's back. His eyes widened and then he heard a laugh, a familiar laugh, a laugh he'd missed yet even it was wrong; it was bitter but there was no hatred, it was cruel but there was pain to it. And the Master fell forward into his arms, "Idiot…"

"Kos!" The Doctor exclaimed and held him, touching the metal in the Master's back and frowning deeper when he realized just how deep it was in there; he couldn't remove it, not without killing the Master and considering the state of his body…

"Don't…yell, it hurts," the Master said managing to sound annoyed and weak at the same time, "My head….it hurts, Doctor…."

"Hold on, I…I'll…I'll find another Time Lord…" his words fell flat as quick as they left him. No Time Lord would help them and even if they wanted to they couldn't right now; they were in the middle of a war, fighting, death; they could only help each other. He bit his lip and shook his head, "I'll gi-"  
"Don't you dare," the Master said firmly, glaring at the Doctor, "Don't…even think….about it. If you even….try…I'll kill….you myself, got it?"

The Doctor had no answer to that and the Master closed his eyes, resting them for a moment before muttering, "Do me a favor….will you?"

"What?"

"Don't…..d..i…e…" With that the Master went limp; the Doctor was quiet for a moment, stunned, in shock. He tried shaking his friend but no response and no gold light, no shining energy; there was nothing but a cold body and his hearts fell.

Cling to the Master's body he started to cry, sobbing, rocking slightly as he did so. He was quiet through it until finally, his voice cracking, he spoke, really rather sang, a dirge to a broken friend, lost:

"Just close your eyes  
The sun is going down  
You'll be alright  
No one can hurt you now  
Come morning light_  
_You and I'll be safe and sound."

Waking with a start the Doctor stared blankly into space for a moment, hyperventilating for a moment then looked over at the sleeping form beside him in the bed, the blonde hair that never seemed to change even with bed head, that strangely peaceful look on his face as he slumbered; the Doctor was laying on his side, the blankets draped over the majority of his body. A small smile crossed his face as he finally just reached out and touched his bedmate's cheek, stroking the skin gently; a rather annoyed expression crossed the man's face and he weakly, sleepily reached up and swatted away the Doctor's hand before turning over and away, mumbling about idiots. The Doctor chuckled and laid down again, snuggling close; he wrapped his arms around the man's body and found no resistance as he pulled him close. He buried his face in his shoulder and closed his eyes, glad for this. Glad for this peace, glad to be safely in bed with his beloved, glad the things he saw were simply bad dreams; he immersed himself in the other man's scent quietly for a moment then muttered against his skin gently, trying not to wake him, "I'm glad you're still here…"  
"I'm not going anywhere, Theta, you idiot," said the familiar voice, exasperated but even the Doctor could hear the smile in his voice, "Go back to sleep."

Theta smiled a little and calmed his hearts, allowing them to match up with his Koschei's and the last two Time Lords slipped into a calm sort of slumber, peaceful and safe for them both.

_Just close your eyes  
You'll be alright  
Come morning light,  
You and I'll be safe and sound…_

* * *

Vene: Oh look!_  
_

Nihon: Oh god its...

Both: A CANONXCANON!

Vene: We don't do these often enough.

Nihon*shakes head* It's not too good but I hope you enjoyed it.


End file.
